Rebel Without A Cause 1955

     Jim Stark is the new kid in town.  His family has moved several times because Jim gets into trouble and they want him to start over each time this happens.  Jim feels his mother browbeats his father and his father doesn’t stand up for himself?  Jim meets Judy and he hopes he can find the love in Judy that he feels he doesn’t get from his family.  He also feels a form of love in Plato’s adulation and the concern that Ray has for him.

     In the beginning of watching I couldn't see the lasting attraction over time for this film?  It did improve over time as I continued to watch.  This film was the inspiration for other films such as, Grease 1978, The Outsiders 1983 and Footloose 1984.  James Dean was at the beginning of his career and it was cut very short.  Dean was in many TV programs and his filmography includes Fixed Bayonets! 1951, Imdb 7*, Sailor Beware 1952 6.5, Deadline - U.S.A. 7.2, 1952, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? 1953 7.1*, East of Eden 1955 8*, Rebel Without a Cause 1955 7.8 and Giant 1956 7.7*.

111 min, Drama directed by Nicholas Ray with James Dean Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt, Steffi Sidney, Maretta Canty, Virginia Brissac, Beverly Long, Ian Wolfe.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, Roger Ebert 4*, Rotten Tomatoes 96% critic 88% audience, TCM Leonard Maltin 4* out of 4* average user rating 3.6* out of 5*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 479 reviews, Metacritic 87 out of 100 with 14 critics 8.2 out of 10 with 16 reviews, Slant Magazine 4* out of 5* Dan Callahan.

Special Note:  Filmed in Griffith Observatory, Getty Mansion, Griffith Park, John Marshall High School, Santa Monica High School, 7529 Franklin Avenue, Calabasas, Midtown, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, South Citrus Ave., Crystal Springs Drive, Los Feliz, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.  James Dean became angry with Nicolas Ray when he stopped the knife fight scene.  Nicholas noticed that Dean had a cut on his ear and he was bleeding.  Dean said, “Don’t you ever cut a scene while I’m having a real moment.”  Dean died on September 30, 1955, nearly a month before this film was released.  Dean died in an accident with his silver Porsche 550 Spyder.  His friends thought it was too high-powered and just days before he died.  Alec Guinness had a premonition that Dean would die behind the Spyder’s wheel.  The characters sit in an empty pool to discuss their lives.  It first appeared in Sunset Boulevard 1950.  All three lead actors, James Dean, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood all died prematurely under tragic circumstances.  Mineo was stabbed on February 12, 1976.  Wood drowned in the late autumn of 1981.  Also, Edward Platt committed suicide in 1974 and Dennis Hopper became suddenly ill in the fall of 2009 and he died five months later.  He died from advanced prostate cancer and it had metastasized to his bones.